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Mr. Protsman’s Antique Auto Museum at Stone Mountain Park will be closing soon. The Stone Mountain Memorial Association (SMMA) states that Mr. Protsman is “ready to move on to other ventures…”. An auction will be held March 22-23, 2009 to liquidate his remaining inventory. Some of the antiques cars and memorabilia have already been sold to private investors.

The Antique Car Museum was opened in 1963 by Tommy Protsman to showcase his private collection of antiques and cars. The museum had housed forty antique cars and over 4000 pieces of memorabilia. The museum included such rare cars as a 1948 Tucker and a 1928 Martin. Car Collector Magazine voted the museum one of the top ten car museums with fifty cars or less.

One Response To “Stone Mountain Park’s Auto Museum Closing”

1. j.q.public Says:
   March 7th, 2009 at 5:50 PM

   No doubt Silver Dollar City is squeezing him out so that they can construct some other monstrosity that obstructs the beauty, nature and history of the mountain. The Great Lawn is completely useless now that their snow blowers are taking up all of the space. I hope that this snow blowing venture is seasonal and short lived.

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One of the casualties of Gwinnett’s 2009 budget cuts was the takeover and management of the Stone Mountain tennis center. The Stone Mountain Memorial Association (SMMA) who currently controls the venue had been negotiating with Gwinnett County for a $1 per year long-term lease. The 2009 Gwinnett budget had provisions for $300,000 in improvements for the old Olympic stadium, but this was slashed due to the current deficit situation.

Phil Hoskins, the director of Gwinnett County Community Services stated that despite the funding cuts negotiations would continue.

=== History ===
In June of 2007 Curtis Branscome, SMMA CEO, stated that SMMA has completed discussions with DeKalb County administration regarding an acceptable agreement. The agreement has not been presented before the DeKalb County Commissioners. There is a constitutional provision that states one county cannot operate a facility or provide a service in another county physically without the consent of that county. A Gwinnett County District Commissioner is not in favor of the agreement and this impacts approval from Gwinnett. Mr. Branscome sought guidance from the committees on the future of the tennis facility. The preferred option to date has been for DeKalb County to assume operation and full responsibility for maintenance of the facility.; Next, there is a good possibility that if the stadium were demolished, Gwinnett County would be willing to operate the fifteen courts and pro shop. Mr. Branscome’s recommendation has been consistent over the last few years. He has advocated demolishing the stadium and planting trees. However, after receiving information from engineers, he has changed his mind. The demolition is estimated at $2 million. The breakdown on the estimate is $750,000 for demolition and $33 per ton or $1.3 million to dispose of all the concrete and steel in a dry landfill. The land is about 23 acres and current value is about $100,000 per acre or $2.3 million for the parcel. Based on these prices, this does not make economic sense and the best course of action may be to lock up the property and let it sit if SMMA cannot negotiate an equitable deal. The on-going operating costs are negligible, but the stadium will continue to deteriorate. Another option would be to put the property on the open market for a long-term land lease with a developer.Page 3

Mr. Branscome stated that he had received regulations last week regarding creating a dry landfill. Commissioner Holcomb stated that it would be difficult for the Association to create a landfill based on the location of the facility. DeKalb County would like to have a dry run at the facility for the Blues and Jazz Festival in July. Mr. Branscome has agreed to let them use the facility “as is, where is”. Mr. Baxter inquired about Gwinnett County and any interest they may have regarding the facility. Mr. Branscome stated that he has talked with the administrative staff at Gwinnett and they will take direction from the Board of Commissioners. However, Gwinnett is only interested in the facility if the stadium is not included. The stadium presents a liability issue and they do not need that type of facility. Mr. Baxter inquired if there was any land that could be separated from the facility. Mr. Branscome stated that there is enough space between courts to double the size to thirty courts. Georgia Perimeter College has expressed interest in the facility for their tennis program. But, there is an issue of whether they can afford to operate and maintain the facility. The committees concluded with further discussion regarding demolition. Mr. Baxter suggested that perhaps Gwinnett County might be willing to participate with landfill availability to dispose of the debris. Mr. Branscome said he would wait to see how the DeKalb County agreement works out with Gwinnett County. If that fails, then he will talk with Gwinnett about their interest in operating the tennis courts, but that SMMA will not demolish the stadium without their participation in that effort, and if that option does not work out, he will present the committees with a demolition proposal to return the property to trees. The committees agreed with this plan.

…well, at least we have the Gwinnett Braves and all that they will bring to our humble little community,… right?…

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